Court dismisses lawsuit against president’s brother

New Delhi, Dec 11 (IANS) The Supreme Court Friday dismissed a lawsuit seeking its direction to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe the alleged role of President Pratibha Patil’s brother G.N. Patil in the murder of a local Jalgaon Congressman and his political rival Vishram Patil in 2004. A bench of Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, Justice B.S. Chauhan and Justice Ashok Ganguly dismissed the lawsuit, saying it has no authority to ask the CBI to probe the case in a particular manner or angle and file the charge sheet in the case.

The bench dismissed the lawsuit of the slain Congress worker’s widow, Rajni Vishram Patil, and observed that the evidence on record was not enough to direct the CBI to initiate probe against the suspects.

Appearing for Rajni Patil, advocate Mahesh Jethmalani argued that the CBI had developed cold feet in going to the bottom of the 2004 murder of Vishram Patil, Jalgaon District Congress Committee president in Maharashtra, as suspect G.N. Patil’s sister Pratibha Devisingh Patil was then governor of Rajasthan. Subsequently, she became the president of India.

Jethmalani said that despite the prime accused Raju Mali’s written statement before his death that he had acted at the behest of G.N. Patil, his associates Ulhas Patil and Ramesh Chaudhary, the CBI did not question these suspects.

Even the complaint against Patil and other accused to the police after the murder of Vishram Patil was not looked into by the CBI, said Jethmalani, adding that the sole reason behind this was the suspect’s link.

As the bench, expressing its disinclination to direct and monitor the CBI probe into the matter, asked Jethmalani if the courts can do so, Jethmalani listed out several cases in which the apex court had ordered the probe and monitored the same against the high and mighty.

Jethmalani told the court that G.N. Patil was done to death as he had raised his voice against various irregularities and malpractices resorted to by Vishram Patil and his associates and lodged complaints against him with higher party authorities.

G.N. Patil had also turned inimical against the slain Congress worker as he had defeated the former in the election for the Jalgaon district committee president.